A large meteor is visible from much of Ohio and parts of neighboring states

March 18, 2026
A large meteor is visible from much of Ohio and parts of neighboring states

So, here’s something that caught my attention — early Tuesday morning, a massive meteor shot through the sky above northern Ohio, and it was loud. People nearby heard a deafening boom, and the fireball lit up the entire morning sky. According to Eric Berger at Tech, eyewitnesses from Ohio and even neighboring states saw that bright streak, and a Pennsylvania weather meteorologist managed to record a video of the fireball passing through the atmosphere. What’s crazy is that, thanks to a satellite’s near-infrared detector, scientists pinpointed exactly where it was — just west of Cleveland over Lake Erie — around 9 am. Luckily, there are no reports of any impacts or damage on the ground. Now, here’s where it gets interesting — this wasn’t just some flash in the sky; it was moving fast enough to break the sound barrier, and it was caught on camera. So, what does this actually mean? Well, it’s a reminder that space rocks are still out there, and sometimes, they put on a show for us.

A large meteor crashed through the sound barrier above northern Ohio on Tuesday morning, producing a large fireball and what local residents described as an extremely loud "boom."

According to various eyewitness reports, the meteor's bright streak through the morning sky was visible across a wide area. A National Weather Service meteorologist in Pennsylvania, Jared Rackley, captured video of the meteor passing through the atmosphere and creating a large fireball. So far, there have been no reports of impacts on the ground.

The precise location of the fireball was pinpointed by a near-infrared optical detector on a geostationary satellite at 9:01 am ET (13:01 UTC). This "geostationary lightning mapper" revealed that the meteor traversed through the atmosphere in northern Ohio, just west of Cleveland, and over Lake Erie.

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Audio Transcript

A large meteor crashed through the sound barrier above northern Ohio on Tuesday morning, producing a large fireball and what local residents described as an extremely loud "boom."

According to various eyewitness reports, the meteor's bright streak through the morning sky was visible across a wide area. A National Weather Service meteorologist in Pennsylvania, Jared Rackley, captured video of the meteor passing through the atmosphere and creating a large fireball. So far, there have been no reports of impacts on the ground.

The precise location of the fireball was pinpointed by a near-infrared optical detector on a geostationary satellite at 9:01 am ET (13:01 UTC). This "geostationary lightning mapper" revealed that the meteor traversed through the atmosphere in northern Ohio, just west of Cleveland, and over Lake Erie.

Read full article

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